With people buying Surfaces and iPads, you'd better bet that for some people form factor and ease of use are worth the extra....I'd say $3-500? Also, "gamer" pre-made manufacturers have done a great job convincing the general poublic that it costs $1,000+ to get a gaming-ready PC. Why do you THINK people who slam PC gaming as expensive act like you NEED to buy a $1,300 graphics card every year?

The point is, the most expensive console in recent years, the PS3, cost $600 on launch and even THAT was considered way too much. I don't care if it's Steam or a PC, a grand is just absurdly expensive.

I mean, why pay that much when you can just get a console? For half the price, no less?

The point is, the most expensive console in recent years, the PS3, cost $600 on launch and even THAT was considered way too much. I don't care if it's Steam or a PC, a grand is just absurdly expensive.

I mean, why pay that much when you can just get a console?

or a decent desktop PC for the same amount as said console. (minus the cost of the monitor, I suppose.)

Why do you THINK people who slam PC gaming as expensive act like you NEED to buy a $1,300 graphics card every year?

I don't know who these people are, but tell them the 90s called and they can come home now.

The century I'm living in, PC components aren't at all evolving as much as they did in the 90s because games are primarily programmed for a fixed and dated set of hardware - consoles. That's why Moore's law has been absolutely smashed in this last decade. That's why the sales of PC hardware are in steep decline, people are absolutely satisfied with four year old hardware.

My PC will be more than five years old when Dreamfall Chapters comes out. And unless something ugly happens to it, that will still suffice completely.

$1000 renders the steambox pointless. My understanding was that it was essentially supposed to be an upgradable home console that plays the majority of steam games. For that to be the case, it has to be in a similar price range as the PS4/Nextbox/WiiU, as that is what people will compare them too when they are looking to buy one. The PC gamers will stick to their PCs.